THE Quiksilver Pro France delivered fun-sized barrels on the La Graviere sandbank for day one of competition.

In terms of upsets, the two big names relegated into Round 2: Joel Parkinson (by Dane Reynolds) and John John Florence (by Pat Gudauskas), weren't really upsets at all. Dane is, when firing, a devastating opponent. And Patty G has surfed with balls and skill all year and deserves to be higher up the rankings than his current precarious perch in the lower rungs of the top 34.

After completing nine heats the relieved 6ft plus, 190lbs, Jordy Smith didn't have to surf in the increasingly inconsistent conditions. Mikey Picon opted instead to throw the King of the Groms in to thread the shallow shorebreak spinners.

Kelly Slater missed his flight after misplacing his passport, had only a few minutes sleep, and won his heat comfortably.

"Well I didn't back-up my result in Fiji with on in Tahiti," Slater said. "It's tough at this level. There's no doubt about that. I always enjoy France though. I've been coming here for so long that it really is like another home for me and I feel really comfortable out there. I was surfing on that same quad I surfed in the Final at Lowers last week and it's been feeling really good so if it stays like this I may stay on it."

The weekend forecast is a tale of two swells, albiet a with a happy ending.

Saturday, September 29th doesn't look very promising: "We have dying wind swell giving waist to chest high waves and possible onshore afternoon winds as the new swell starts to build in the afternoon." Says Ben Freeston, MSW Head Forcaster. "The final remains of today's swell will die out tomorrow with about 2ft@9 seconds of swell mixing with a tiny northerly wind swell from overnight cross shore winds. The local wind looks like it'll come onshore in the afternoon as the new swell starts to fill in.

"A storm currently passing beneath Iceland (and confirmed with satellite data) means we can have high confidence in a new swell arriving later on Saturday and peaking on Sunday morning. The swell is forecast to top out around 5ft@12 seconds giving surf heights exceeding our opening round one in the head high+ range and large on the better sets.

"With high pressure in control winds should remain light, although sunny skies would mean the normal tendency to onshore sea breeze in the afternoon. The swell drops on monday but still giving chest to head high potential in the morning and with the first long period fore runners of the next swell starting to show in the afternoon."

Mick Fanning, current number 1, was totally dominant in the tricky conditions.

"In these kind of conditions, one wave can change the heat and you just hope you're on that one," Fanning said. "When they come through, there are great, little barrels to be had. France always has very strong wildcards so you want to avoid them at all costs. Winning in Round 1 is a start."

Dane Reynolds got two quick scores on the board and backed it up with a plus 6 to win a heat.

"The waves were pretty fun out there when they came through," Reynolds said. "It's nice and spread out so Joel (Parkinson) and Bede (Durbidge) were kind of down on their own peak and I was up on my own peak which is always nice. I'm not much of a hassler. Competition is fun for me and I don't put pressure on myself to do well. I do like to see how I perform in this environment though and that's why I do these."

Pattty G, John John and Pupo looked a tough call for Pat who hasn't managed to make a heat despite surfing well in every event.

"I absolutely froth to come here" said a very happy Pat Gudauskas after grabbing the scores needed and bullying JJF out of the heat by sticking to him like glue in the final minutes.

"A Round 1 win is definitely preferred, I feel like I've been surfing well this season but the results haven't been coming. I have always had a great time in France and I'm really comfortable out here. I'm hoping to post two big results here before the tour heads back to California."

""I'm so happy to get through Round 1," Andre said. "I'm not thinking about the ratings. I'm just going out there to have fun, catch a lot of waves and hopefully that means I win. That's my goal for this event - to focus on having fun."

Taj threaded a million tubes (and made a couple) to vindicate Mickey Picon's decision to start.

"First heat of the morning is always a gamble," Burrow said. "You don't have a reference from the other heats and you're not sure what the judges are going to throw. Lucky for me, the conditions this morning were fun little barrels and it always feels great to get through Round 1. There are some really dangerous wildcards in this event so I'd much rather be watching Round 2 than in it."

As the tide pushed up the wave quality improved but the swell was dropping and consistency tailed-off. As a rule when a swell drops you are waiting for the less frequent peak waves, i.e. the ones with scoring potential, allowing the smaller ones to roll under you. It was the kind of day most surfers would be happy to launch themselves over the edge when they saw the ease with which the pros managed to race towards the exit, however, up close and personal it looked a far trickier proposition.